Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese-born explorer who launched the round of the globe while attempting to reach spice-rich Southeast Asia. After a couple of years as a soldier in the Portuguese fleet, he became heavily involved in the search for a westward spice route. He was the first European explorer to sail from the Atlantic Ocean into the new calm waters and name it the Mar Pacifico (now the Pacific Ocean), through the Strait of Magellan, and to discover Tierra del Fuego, an island chain off the southern tip of South America. His efforts to circumnavigate the globe eventually demonstrated that there was an alternative path to India and the Spice Islands besides the longer and more perilous route through Africa, despite its popularity. Although he was assassinated before the tour could be finished, he is credited for planning the first circumnavigation of the globe. Due to Spain’s preoccupation with conquering property in South America and Portugal’s preference for sailing eastwards around the Cape of Good Hope, the Magellan route was not utilized for many years.
Youth and Early Life
At 1480, Ferdinand Magellan was born to Rodrigo de Magalhaes and Alda de Mesquita in either Vila Nova de Gaia, near Porto, or Sabrosa, near Vila Real.
When his parents died when he was ten, he and his brother Diogo moved to the Portuguese court to serve as pages to Queen Leonora, primarily due to his parents’ wealthy Portuguese connections.
He received his education at the Queen’s School of Pages in Lisbon, where he was exposed to useful disciplines such as astronomy, mapping, and celestial navigation.
Ferdinand Magellan’s Career
In 1505, he joined a Portuguese fleet under Francisco de Almeida, the first viceroy of Portuguese in India, and spent seven years on an expedition to India and Africa.
He participated in various conflicts, including the Battle of Cannanore (1506), in which he was wounded, and the Battle of Diu (1509), in which the Portuguese sank Egyptian ships in the Arabian Sea.
In 1511, he joined Afonso de Albuquerque’s fleet for the conquest of Malacca on the Malay Peninsula, gaining control of the region’s vital commercial routes.
The Moluccas, often known as the Spice Islands (now part of Indonesia), are home to some of the most costly spices in the world, including cloves and nutmeg.
Midway through 1513, he returned to Lisbon and joined the large 500-ship, 15,000-soldier force sent to Morocco by King Manuel to attack the governor, who had refused to pay the Portuguese an annual tribute.
After the Moroccan soldiers were defeated, Magellan remained in Morocco, where he got a leg wound in a skirmish that left him with a chronic limp.
In 1514, his unauthorized absence lost him his profession, as he was accused of illegal trade with the Moors. Despite his denials, the Portuguese canceled all future employment offers.
In 1517, following a dispute with King Manuel over his petition to sail west from Europe to the Spice Islands, he renounced his Portuguese identity and sailed to Seville to seek the assistance of the Spanish king.
Together with cosmographer Riu Faleiro, he offered his services to King Charles I (future Holy Emperor Charles V), grandson of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who had financed Columbus’ 1492 voyage to the New World.
After two years of intensive study of modern navigation charts and analysis of the errors made by Christopher Columbus and Vasco Nunez de Balboa, he was granted royal approval.
Ruler Charles agreed to finance his journey in the hopes of becoming the king of the wealthiest nation in the world by reaching the Moluccas and acquiring a portion of the spices, without harming relations with the Portuguese.
In 1518, he and Faleiro were appointed captains to undertake their hunt for the spice-rich countries by a water-only route, and they were later raised to Commander of the Order of Santiago.
Faleiro withdrew from the journey shortly prior to embarkation, and a Spanish commercial ship captain named Juan Sebastian Elcano subsequently boarded.
In 1519, he began his westward journey from Seville with the lead ship Trinidad and four other ships carrying 270 men of various nationalities: San Antonio, Santiago, Concepcion, and Victoria.
At Puerto San Julian, a violent mutiny broke out between the Spanish captains and Magellan.
He put down the rebellion by murdering one commander and abandoning the other on a desolate island. Due to the destruction of Santiago during the storm, the voyage was resumed after a few weeks of waiting for the weather to calm.
On November 1, 1520, the fleet passed Cape Virgenes, Argentina, and entered the entrance, christening it Estrecho de Todos Los Santos or All Saints’ Channel.
The San Antonio returned to Spain after its commander deserted, leaving only three ships to continue exploring the South Pacific.
In March 1521, after three months of hard traveling over the huge Pacific Ocean, the ships arrived at Guam. In April of 1521, they arrived on the island of Cebu in the Philippines.
Upon the request of the King, whom he had befriended and converted to Christianity, he consented to battle the king’s adversary on the island of Mactan. Magellan assaulted the island of Mactan with a small force, but the islanders vastly outnumbered him, and he was ultimately murdered.
In November 1521, just two ships, Trinidad and Victoria (Concepcion was abandoned and burned) managed to sail westward and reach the Spice Islands or the Moluccas after his death at the hands of the Macanese.
The ships were stocked with spices and set sail towards the west, but Trinidad broke apart and became unseaworthy, leaving only Victoria to continue and return to Seville in September 1522 with 18 survivors under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano.
His Major Opera
In November 1520, he traversed the 373-mile route from Cape Virgenes at the tip of South America, which is known today as the Strait of Magellan.
In November 1520, as he crossed the Strait of Magellan from the Atlantic Ocean into what is now the Pacific Ocean, he gave the new waters the name “Mar Pacifico,” which means “peaceful.”
Juan Sebastian Elcano completed the first circumnavigation of the globe, demonstrating the planet’s spherical shape, despite the fact that his crewmate died midway through the voyage.
Personal History and Legacy
In 1518, he married Maria Caldera Beatriz Barbosa, the daughter of his countryman friend Diogo Barbosa, in Seville. The marriage had two boys, both of whom died in childhood: Rodrigo de Magalhaes and Carlos de Magalhaes.
On April 27, 1521, when fighting the chieftain on Mactan Island, he believed that his superior European weaponry would end the conflict. However, he was murdered by a bamboo spear.
The International Astronomical Union has named three craters after him, including Magelhaens and Magelhaens A on the moon and Magelhaens on Mars.
Since he was the first European to find this South American species in 1520, the Magellanic penguin is named after him. This species is found in Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands.
Estimated Net Worth
Ferdinand is one of the wealthiest and most well-known explorers. According to our investigation, Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Ferdinand Magellan has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million.